Editorial: Dam: That Campbell can spin a story

Gordon Campbell, the premier of British Columbia, seems to have some memory issues. It wasn’t long ago that he was boasting that his government was going green. Now all of a sudden he’s reviving a massive hydroelectric project from three decades ago that will disrupt an area of the Peace Country.

Some say the Site C dam on the Peace River could potentially increase B.C’s greenhouse gas emissions an estimated 74,000 tonnes per year through the decomposition of the forests the reservoir would cover. Brian Churchill of the Peace Valley Environmental Association says those same trees without the flooding would capture just as much greenhouse gas.

The Sierra Club’s George Heyman agrees. “The huge loss of boreal forest due to flooding would eliminate a major carbon sink for B.C., and increase our CO2 emissions far into the future.”

Buddy Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t going to be pleased. “We are united politically and ecologically,” said the movie star turned California governor, who stood with Campbell a couple of years back to proclaim that they would show national governments how to achieve environmental targets. They even signed a signed a memorandum of understanding on climate change that set out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels.

Of course, this is the same premier that also spoke of greater respect for First Nations. Remember the Recognition Act? Treaty 8 First Nations that occupy that area of the Peace are frustrated with the Campbell government’s disregard of their rights when it comes to resource development. I guess it’s OK to be green and respectful, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the accumulation of money and pleasing your corporate bosses.

Site C project will be the third dam on the Peace River, and, according to a government notice, “it will be a source of clean and renewable energy for over 100 years, producing enough electricity to power about 410,000 homes per year.”

Campbell said the Site C dam should be up and running by 2020 if environmental assessments and consultations with First Peoples go in his favor. And who’s betting against that happening even if they don’t go in his favor? The dam should provide about 900 megawatts of power and 4,600 gigawatt hours of electricity every year, but skeptics are saying that’s not intended for residential use.
“Site C is clearly not about B.C.’s energy needs, it is about powering dirty fossil fuel projects and providing a massive subsidy to the private power sector,” said the Wilderness Committee’s Joe Foy. Oh, that’s so not green.
Critics say the power will go to the extraction of dirty oil from the Alberta tarsands, an area of consternation for many treaty nations.

The Supreme Court of Canada has granted intervenor status to Duncan’s First Nation and Horse Lake First Nation in a case that asks the question: Do regulatory boards have a duty to decide whether First Nations have been adequately consulted and accommodated by Canada before approvals for resource development are granted. The case will also deal with past infringements of Aboriginal and treaty rights. It’s a case that could have widespread legal ramifications.

Campbell’s not thinking about that. He’s blinded by the dollar signs in his eyes, because the other prize the premier is eyeing is the Horn River Shale Basin in the northeast corner of B.C., the largest natural gas reserve in all of Canada.

Chief Roland Willson said West Moberly First Nations has been in negotiation with B.C. over this issue for years, but it’s been like talking to a stick at the end of the table. He’s not buying the premier’s spin on the dam.

Campbell said the power the dam will generate will give the province a competitive edge.

“The decision to pursue Site C comes at a time when BC Hydro forecasts that B.C.’s electricity needs will grow by 20 to 40 per cent over the next 20 years,” the government contends. “The province and BC Hydro are planning now so that British Columbians will continue to enjoy the benefits of clean, reliable and affordable electricity in the future.”

Willson’s a blunt talker.

“Don’t crap in our backyard and tell us it’s a bed of roses,” he told a Vancouver newspaper.

“It is clear to Treaty 8 First Nations that the only real priority for the government is the further exploitation of the natural resources of northeast British Columbia for revenue into the government coffers,” Willson said in a press release.

“We are gravely concerned about this, given the government’s recent watering down of environmental regulatory processes. That could enable this mega project to move through with little or no challenges to the application.”

Let’s face it. Campbell is short on credibility in this province. He told the electorate before his party was returned to power last year that a harmonized sales tax wasn’t in the cards for the province, and within three days after the polls closed his minions were plotting to bring harmony to B.C. The HST will go into effect July 1.
Why do they keep electing this man?
Windspeaker